Fighting Techniques

This page lists the Clan's various fighting techniques as described in Cats of the Clans and Battles of the Clans.

Techniques

 * Back Kick - Explosive surprise move to catch opponent from behind. Judge opponent's distance from you carefully, then lash out with your back legs, taking all weight on your front paws.
 * Belly Rake - A fight-stopper. Slice with unsheathed claws against the soft flesh of the opponent's belly. If you're pinned down, the belly rake quickly puts you back into control.
 * Front Paw Blow - Frontal attack. Bring your front paw down hard on your opponent's head. Claws sheathed.
 * Front Paw Strike/Forepaw Slash - Frontal attack. Slice downward with your front paw at the face or body of your opponent.
 * Killing Bite - A death blow to the back of the neck. Quick and silent and sometimes considered dishonorable. Used only as a last resort.
 * Leap-and-hold - Ideal for a small cat facing a larger opponent. Spring onto opponent's back and grip with unsheathed claws. Now you are beyond the range of the opponent's paws and in position to inflict severe body wounds. A group of apprentices can defeat a large and dangerous warrior in this way. Watch for the drop-and-roll counter move, and try to jump free before you get squashed.
 * Partner Fighting - Warriors who have trained and fought together will often fall instinctively into a defensive position, each protecting each other's back while fending off an opponent on either side. Slashing, clawing, and leaping together, battle pairs can be a whirlwind of danger for attackers.
 * Play Dead - Effective in a tight situation, such as when you are pinned. Stop struggling and go limp. When your opponent relaxes their grip, thinking you are defeated, push yourself up explosively. This will throw off an unwary opponent and put you in attacking position.
 * Scruff Shake - Secure a strong teeth grip in the scruff of your opponent's neck; then shake violently until they are too rattled to fight back. Most effective against rats, who are small enough to throw. A strong throw will stun or kill them.
 * Tail Yank - Grab your opponent's tail and yank it with such force your opponent is thrown off balance.
 * Teeth Grip - Target your opponent's extremities- the legs, tail, scruff or ears- and sink in your teeth and hold. This move is similar to the leap-and-hold except your claws remain free to fight.
 * Upright Lock - Final, crushing move on already weakened opponent. Rear up on back legs and bring weight down on opponent. If opponent does the same, wrestle and flip them under you. This makes you vulnerable to the belly rake, so it takes great strength and speed.
 * Half-Turn Belly Rake - Turn onto your side, slip under the opponent's belly, rake it with your claws, then swiftly turn back onto all fours out from under your opponent.
 * Badger Defense: Leap over opponent, turn on your back legs and bite opponent's leg. Used only when fighting badgers.
 * Duck and Twist: Simple defensive move. The cat ducks then twists around, rolling over onto their back, and then springs to their paws.
 * Jump and pin: Complicated move. Leap backwards, and bounce off the wall. With precise accuracy, land on the cat.

Examples
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Rear up to slash

 * To hurt opponents coming from the air, this move can be used to rear up on the hind legs and slashing at the enemy.

Attack Crouch

 * Crouching down to leap out onto your enemy.

Tucking in the tail

 * The less you give your enemy to hold on to, the better. This technique takes practice, as balancing with a tucked-in tail is tricky.

Brushing out fur

 * Fluff your fur out to make yourself look bigger. The opposite of this would be to smooth down your fur to look weaker.

Arched Back

 * Used to intimidate the opponent or to vent out anger.

Shoulder Drop

 * This move is performed by grabbing the opponent's shoulders and then locking them against the ground. From here, the cat can do anything such as churning their hind paws against their spine.

Roll Over

 * Used by rolling over to avoid an enemy's swipes or grip.
 * Used to crush an opponent that is on your back. Badgers can crush cats this way.

Badger Defense

 * An "advanced" badger defense move. Leap over opponent, turn on your back legs, and, while turning, rake your claws on opponent's back. Then sink teeth into opponent's leg. Used only when fighting badgers.

Darkness Techniques
This is a list of fighting techniques taught in the Dark Place, or the Darkness. Most of the names of these fighting techniques were unknown.
 * Underbelly Slash - Dart under your enemy's underbelly, slashing at the back of their forepaws. When they twist, expecting you to emerge on the other side, back quickly out of the way you came. Hook your claws into your enemies fur, and drag them to the ground.
 * Spin Hind Kick - Flick your hind legs into the air while spinning around on your forepaws, then rear up rake at the enemy with your claws before tucking your head down and perform a forward roll.
 * Hold and Enemy Collapse - Leap onto an enemy's back, and hold their head with your forepaws and use your hindpaws to knock their hindlegs out from under them, thus making them collapse to the ground.

References and Citations
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